This was
a remarkable fantasy novel, one unlike I haven’t read before. Its predecessor Titus
Groan was of a magnificence of creating the universe of the castle
Gormenghast, its inhabitants and outer dwellers, but in Gormenghast the castle
takes center stage as it reveals more nooks, crannies, hidden pathways and
secret windows than I could’ve imagined.
The
story starts a few years after the ending of the first novel in this trilogy. Titus
Groan begins with the birth of the 77th earl of Gormenghast
and ends with the death of the 76th earl of Gormenghast when the former
is turning one year old.
Gormenghast takes place when Titus is a boy
of seven and he’s being brought up to rule in his father’s stead. On one hand
he’s being educated as if he’s one of the common folks, but on the other hand
he already is forced to undergo the many rituals that make up an ordinary day
at the castle. All of the members who survived the first novel are again
greeted in this second volume. Flay, Fuchsia, Steerpike, The Countess and many
others. The main focus is on Titus, but the desires, schemes and worries of the
others aren’t forgotten, which gives enormous depth to the novel.
The
story-telling of Mervyn Peake is gothic to say the least. It isn’t ordinary English,
it’s almost a work of art in which he tries to convey a life that centers
around age old rituals and in a castle so big that none of its occupants
realize its full capacity. Trying to contemplate the size and scale of the
castle is like trying to fit an entire alien world into a teardrop, it just won’t
happen. I don’t even think that the castle has given up all of her secrets.
There’s still a third, a final novel, to be explored and even though I’m going
to wait a while before I will dive in, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
It’s going to be something else, as this volume ended with Titus leaving. Such
a cliffhanger!
I’m a
big fan of fantasy, especially when it’s completely out of the box, a world
where barely anything can be related to the “real” world. The Gormenghast
trilogy is daunting to say the least, but very rewarding once you set your mind
to it. I’ve mastered the skillful word-weaving in which Mervyn Peake can describe
their surroundings as well as the characters inner moods. I feel like I’ve discovered
something very valuable here. A novel that I won’t lightly forget.
And can
you believe that I’m probably the first that has ever checked out this novel in
our library? It’s been there since 1999 and not even a single crease in its
backbone.. It makes me feel a bit like I’m inhabiting an alien planet where no
one speaks my language.
